CALIFORNIA PLANTS IN THEIR HOMES 



and when there are only scattered plants, the clusters are 

 so showy, and last so long, that the flowers can be pretty 

 sure of a visit sooner or later; at any rate, they make no 

 provision for self pollination. 



Another group in this family is best called by its 

 botanical name, Pentstemon. Scarlet Pentstemons are 

 often called honeysuckles, and violet or blue ones, bearded 

 tongues. The Pentstemon in Fig. 55, is a violet one, 

 and there is a picture of a climbing, scarlet Pentstemon in 

 Fig. 71. Another scarlet one, with long,slender flowers, is 

 sometimes called the scarlet bugler ; in Southern California 

 it begins blooming in February, and its brilliant clusters 

 last until mid-summer ; the violet one, also, is in flower 

 nearly all the year. There are many Pentstemons that 

 bloom only in summer time, the greater part of them being 

 mountain plants. The name Pentstemon, or fifth stamen, 

 is given from the fact that there are five filaments, but, as 

 you can see, one of these has no anther and so is not a true 

 stamen ; still it has its use. Pull off a corolla and look 

 through it as you would through a telescope. You will 

 see that the four true stamens curve toward each other, and 

 nearly meet, forming a dome-shaped screen just above the 

 honey, while just above this, the fifth stamen crosses from 

 one side of the flower to the other, so leaving a very narrow 

 entrance to the honey. 



All Pentstemons, then, are exclusive flowers. The 

 scarlet ones have tubes too long for the bees, and invite 

 humming birds; the blue and violet flowers admit bees, but 

 some kinds, only the largest ones. Anthers and stigmas are 

 always against the upper part of the corolla, and are sure 

 to be struck by a large guest. The lower lip of the scarlet 

 flowers is not conspicuous, in fact it can hardly be made 

 out at all in the scarlet bugler, but humming birds need no 

 platform; the blue Pentstemons have broad lower lips, 

 which form good platforms. There are insects that take 



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